


Ocean's Whisper

by BlackBirdAolen



Series: Ask.fm Requests | The Daily Request Collection [2]
Category: Valkyrie Profile Series
Genre: Calm Day, Day Off, Gen, Ocean, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-04-02 22:09:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4075582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackBirdAolen/pseuds/BlackBirdAolen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A rather short glimpse at a calmer day for Yumei and Arngrim.</p><p>(This was another request over at Ask.fm. It took me a while, and I'm really not sure if it turned out to be so great.)</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="http://ask.fm/BlackBirdAolen">Got a fanfic idea for me?</a><br/><a href="http://cheroshseiphar.deviantart.com/">My deviantART - full of original fiction.</a><br/><a href="http://blackbirdaolen.tumblr.com/">Snippets and ramblings on my tumblr.</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Ocean's Whisper

Arngrim watched on when Yumei had finally let go of her shyness and had started splashing around in the water at the beach. They had come to the ocean at Yumei’s request, even if Arngrim wasn’t quite sure why she had insisted on it. He had, by now, understood that she was an ostracized half-mermaid (the mere thought of that made his brain hurt and his anger boil), and thus she had long avoided even talking about the ocean. But, Arngrim supposed, there always was some kind of longing for the deep, perilous waters. It was something to be admired, and yet he didn’t understand why she would expose herself to such pain again.

And then again, it was something to be admired. To face pain required strength, sometimes beyond even the strongest man on the battlefield. Arngrim leaned forward lightly, shaking his head with a faint smirk. He had underestimated Yumei on several occasions, but there was no reason for him to not view her as someone rather young still. She simply didn’t look like someone able to hold her own on the battlefield, but after having gotten to know her a little closer, Arngrim could see an unrelenting spirit, born from hope. A fragile hope it might be, but it still was there.

“Don’t you want to come into the water?” Yumei’s voice carried surprisingly clearly over to him. It was a slightly windy day, at the ocean, but that was already enough to create rather tall waves, most of them taller than Arngrim by quite some. “Or do you fear the water too much?”

Arngrim rolled his eyes and snickered, but didn’t reply. At least, he had agreed to take off his armour and enjoy the sunny day by the waterside, but he would certainly not go for a swim when the waters were anything but calm. Yumei was having her fun, and that was about all he had wanted to see today. She had been glum about her predicament for some time, and ever since Arngrim had learned the reasons behind it, he never had regarded her as whiny again. Calling someone with such a difficult history whiny would have been shameful to him. It took more than be glum about one’s past to be whiny.

It had happened only once that Yumei had allowed her façade to drop in front of him. And at that time, he had been rather ashamed that he had been a bit rough on her at times. But by now, it was clear that they were a lot more understanding towards one another. Of course, there still were differences, but they were not as intense as they had been some time before. To see Yumei’s genuine sadness, and her difficulties to keep up the cheerful face, had become very clear to Arngrim on that one day. It hadn’t quite changed the fact that he still could be rather harsh to her, but he was working on it in earnest.

“I hope that the ocean wouldn’t be so rough today.” Yumei had come back out of the water, clutching a towel around her form. Arngrim politely waited until she had gotten somewhat dressed before directly looking at her. “On calm days, it whispers to me. Even though I was rejected, the voices are still there. I am a part of the merfolk after all.”

Arngrim nodded thoughtfully. As much as the merfolk would be opposed to the thought, Yumei always would be a part of their vast bloodlines. And nothing would change that fact all too soon. But even if the waters were rather tumultuous today, he was glad that he had agreed to come with her. She did need a mood picker-upper from time to time, and this here had seemed to be an as good opportunity as any. And, just maybe, on a calmer day, he could at least get an impression of how friendly the ocean really was.


End file.
